Conveyors find widespread application to transport bulk materials such as rock, sand, ores, crops, etc. A conveyor typically comprises a belt drivably mounted around a series of pulleys and drums to transport the material between locations. Belt cleaners (or scrapers) are advantageous to remove material adhered to the contact surface of the belt with such scrapers typically positioned at a region of a drive drum so as to clean the belt immediately after the conveyed material has been discharged.
Conventionally, conveyor belt scrapers have a contact tip that is biased against the material transport surface of the belt so as to continually wipe the belt surface as it is rotated around the drum. Accordingly, scrapers are wear parts and efforts have been directed to finding a balance between achieving sufficient contact and cleaning of the belt surface without damaging the belt. Example scrapers are described in EP 1434725; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,373,931 and 6,349,816.
However, existing scrapers are not optimised with regard to scraping performance and service lifetime. In particular, conventional arrangements do not comprise sufficient flexibility so as to appropriately flex away from the belt in response to belt damage which only enhances the damage and accelerates wear of the scraper and the belt. Accordingly, what is required is a belt scraper that addresses these problems.